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Terrus and Arborus had wanted to help the younger Fae with her personal plight, thinking of something that would help cheer her up. Before they could settle on an idea, the group was on the move again and the brothers had no choice but to follow. Arborus was comforted by the fact that they were back in a forest, clearly showing his joy by running and leaping from branch to branch. Terrus, in his usual manner, was keeping low to the ground and searching for rare minerals or treasures. Both were interrupted when the heard the blood-curdling screech of the undead child that attacked the spear-wielding aquean.

Arborus stumbled on a branch as he was startled by the haunting sound and would've fallen had he not caught himself on the branch. Terrus had instinctively burrowed a quick hole to hunker down in, luckily saving himself from the clutches of an undead villager. Arborus looked down at the hunched undead that was now clawing at the dirt, then pointed the speartip of his blowgun downward and leapt from the branch. The Fae dropped swiftly, pushing the spear through the neck of the undead, splitting two vertebrae and severing the spinal cord.

Terrus, in his burrow, came face-to-face with a bloodied speartip, quite obviously from Arborus's aerial strike. The earth elemental dug to the side, then immediately resurfaced just as his brother removed his spear from the cadaver. The Fae twins looked up at Rena as she shouted the warning then watched as she tore apart a few of the undead with her wind magic. Arborus and Terrus turned to one another, Terrus wearing a look of surprise that Arborus most certainly wore beneath his mask. They turned their attention back to the incoming undead, many of them covered in ash, blood, and charred flesh. The empty looks on their faces were eerie, especially after realizing they used to be people with families anf friends. But now wasn't the time to think of such things, they were coming after the Fae with the intent of killing.

The brothers gave eachother a nod and removed their packs, then Terrus took out his sling with a large rounded stone nestled in the pocket and wielded it in one hand while he removed his hatchet from it's holster with the other. Meanwhile, Arborus sheathed his blowgun onto his back and began lifting himself off the ground and tucking his hands into his brothers armor, lifting his brother with him. Arborus flew forward, picking up great speed as Terrus began twirling his sling. The earth elemental swung his sling even faster as they rapidly approached an undead. The pocketed stone connected with the walking cadaver's cranium, making a loud crack as its skull caved in. The formerly undead villager fell to the ground in a limp heap as Terrus raised his hatchet, coming up on another undead. As the brothers flew by, Terrus swung fiercely and decapitated the ambling cadaver. They drew near to another, one which Terrus intended to hit with the sling, but they were too close and cause the sling to wrap around the undead's neck. The sling was pulled taught as the brothers flew by and pulled back on the undead's head, but the body was too great of an anchor. The Fae reeled in midflight and began tumbling towards the ground as the undead's neck popped in dislocation and fell back. Thinking fast, Terrus let go of his weapons and grasped Arborus's armor as Arborous let go of his brother's.

They hit the ground and, like agile acrobats, tumbled forward until Terrus found a great foothold and, using the momentum of the roll, threw Arborus forward with all his strength. Instictively, the nature elemental drew his shortblades in midair, pointed them forward, and angled his wings to begin twirling through the air with great speed. He aimed for one of the undead as he drilled through air and, in turn, drilled through the torso of the undead with his blades. Arborus lost considerable speed after the impact, but still flew forward, though no longer spinning. He aimed for another undead and planted his blades firmly into its chest, causing it to topple backwards. Arborus landed on his feet on top of the undeads torso, changed his grip on the hilts of his twin blade and pulled them out, then brought them back down through the undead's eyes, twisting them to ensure its end.

At the scream of Soreal, Gnûrlon turned around so fast that dust flew into the air to see what caused the commotion. The corpses of the dead villagers had gotten back on their feet and had started attacking the companions.

"May I take it from here?" Albin asked, referring to his skill with throwing spears.

Gnûrlon was sceptic. "I don't really want you to take the honor for it though."

Albin smiled to Gnûrlon. "Don't worry, we'll just say that we did it together."

Albin drew a spear from his back and focused on one of the undead. The undead human had his face torn apart and his chest sliced open and covered with burns. That somebody could of been standing after something like that is incredible. Or a work of magic. Albin took a deep breath and put his arm behind him. He tensed his muscles and stopped breathing for a second. In one quick smooth motion he threw the spear at the undead. The whistling sound. Gnûrlon was sure that everyone in the vicinity heard it. The spear whistled through the air and it penetrated two undead instead of only one as Albin had anticipated.

"Gnûrlon, did you help me aiming?" Albin asked Gnûrlon.

"I don't like lying." Gnûrlon answered shortly to Albins question.

Satisfied with the answer Albin stabbed one undead woman that had closed the distance between him and her. He thrusted the spear into her mouth and through her body all the way through her bum and into the ground. No blood spray, this was absolutely not living beings.

Sorael had no time to react as two more undead civilians attacked him from behind. One of the enemies grabbed sorael from behind while another rushed him from the front wielding a large branch. Sorael lost all sympathy for his attackers at this point, he physically overpowered the enemy grabbing him from the back and brought the one behind him between the one with the branch.

The undead with the branch began to swing when sorael kicked the other undead in the way of the branch. The one with the branch could not stop it's swing in time and whacked the other undead in the head knocking it off balance. Sorael would not let a chance like this go by as he charged at the undead with the branch. Sorael brought the back end of his spear down on the undeads head knocking it to the ground and as he did this the other one started to stand up. Sorael in a smooth motion spun counter clockwise and brought the spear head and slashed the other undead in a downward motion. Before the undead could react sorael then continued his attack and pierced the undead in the chest with his spear and lifted the undead into the air. Using the undead's body on the spear as a club sorael swung his spear at the other one and the force of the undeads body on the spear knocked the two undead to the ground. Sorael felt the life drain out of the two undead, he then caught his breath as he had the first moment of rest in a while.

Meanwhile in another area, a mysterious being was still watching the groups every move somehow pleased that they managed to defeat his undead civilians. He laughed to himself as everything just became more interesting for him, he tapped his fingers on his staff as he contemplated what to do next. He decided it would be enjoyable to send them on a wild goose chase. He ordered one of the undead soldiers to write a note on an arrow and shoot it near the group. He chuckled as he wondered what the group would do with the information he was handing to them.

"Well looks like that wizard was right and whoever this man is we need to stop him. But now the question is where do we find him at?" Sorael started to say when an arrow whizzed past his face and hit the ground in front of him. Sorael was startled a little as he looked around with his weapon drawn and saw no one was attacking them, it was almost as if that arrow wasn't intended to hit him. Sorael looked at the arrow and noticed that there was a piece of paper tied to the arrow. Sorael untied the piece of paper and noticed that it was a letter addressed to them.

"Bravo brave warriors, you managed to kill some civilians quite easily. But you shouldn't let their deaths get to you because you weren't the ones that killed them. I was the one who killed them and I made sure that their deaths were very slow and painful. Now you may be angered reading this note and want to find me but I know that you don't know where to go next. So I'll help you out a little, There is a town know as Ironvale that is located south of regnatores and that is where you should head. I won't tell you where to look or what you are looking for as that is the only help I will give you. And with that I bid you farewell." Is what the not said before bursting into flames as sorael finished reading it. "Motherfucker is toying with us!" Sorael said angrily. "The note said to go to Ironvale but he didn't tell us what to do when we got there. For all we know it could be a trap but it is our only lead at the moment. I say we go for it and face this trap head on." Sorael stated.

"Keep a cool head" Malyc said, in response to Soreal's rising anger. "When you get angry, you are more prone to making mistakes. The angrier you are, the bigger the mistakes. We need to think about this before jumping in headfirst."

What does this guy have to gain by sending us to Ironvale? he thought. Is it going to give him more time to plan, while we run around chasing shadows? Or will he have an ambush waiting for us there, in the hopes that we will fall?

"We should be able to use the hills to get close to the town unseen." Malyc said, having been in this area for much of the last 3 years. "Once there, we can see what we're up against. I'd recommend waiting at least half a day before we attack, but I'll leave the final decision to you" He said, gesturing at Soreal.

Terrus stared for a moment in near shock at how well the split second decision worked. A wisp of a smile cracked onto his face as he realized how much of a mess had been made from the ordeal. Arborus was nearly covered in the blood of the undead he ripped through, and this came to light as he cleaned his blades on the grass. Once the nature elemental sheathed them both, he noticed the dark red splotches on his arms. He lifted the mask of his helmet to get a clearer view as he began scanning the rest of his body and discovered splotches and streaks all over himself. The expression on the Fae's face turned into one of surprise then disgust in just a few short moments. Terrus's smile quickly grew into a grin as he noticed Arborus's worry and soon was forced to cover his mouth to quiet his snickering once he saw his brother's solution to the problem. Arborus had begun rolling around in the grass, hoping the dew would do away with the splotches. Terrus had to turn away to prevent himself from rolling on the ground with laughter as his brother wriggled and squirmed on the ground, then after regaining some composure he went to retrieve their packs and his own weapons.

Sorael tried to calm himself, just as malyc said he could not make good decisions when angered. He took a deep breath and tried to focus on the task at hand which is all he could do. "We can think of what we are going to do about Ironvale when we get there because we still have to cross Straylight river in order to even get to Ironvale." Sorael stated.

Sorael then heard Aaron's question. "Well Ironvale is a town a few miles south of Regnatores, there really isn't anything that makes it stand out in my mind." Sorael responded trying to think of what made Ironvale a good target. "Well I guess we'll find that out when we get there, as for the things that attacked us. I think they may have been the villagers that were killed brought back to life with necromancy, but that's just my speculation I don't know much about magic." Sorael said saying all he knew.

"But we should get a move on now, questions can wait. Maybe if we're lucky we can find a cart or something." Sorael said hopefully. The group started to walk out of the forest when sorael heard a horse's neigh. He started following the noise when he came upon a large cart that had two horses attached to it. "This is too good to be true, Be careful everyone." Sorael said cautiously approaching the cart. Sorael went to the back of the cart and looked in and noticed a dead body of a man. "Looks like this may be the owner, if it is I don't think he'll need it anymore." Sorael said climbing into the cart. He grabbed the dead body and jumped off the cart and placed the body near a tree. "Well then this cart is ours now, I'll drive the rest of you get in the back of the cart." Sorael said climbing into the front of the cart. Once everyone was on the cart it started to move to the south.

The Fae brothers, once they were cleaned and ready for travel, decided against being stuffed into the carriage like the rest but instead leapt atop the buggy and sat on its roof. They both removed their packs and set them in their laps, then Terrus proceeded to remove a sack of provisions he had brought with them. Within the sack were various smaller sacks of dried fruits and meat, all labeled with Fae markings. Terrus grabbed one of these smaller sacks and tossed it to Arborus then withdrew one for himself. Arborus opened it up and took out a strip of dried, maple-smoked, candied venison. Terrus took out his own strip of dried venison, though his was spiced with what the two Fae liked to call 'Vulkan Fire Pepper', one of Terrus's favorite ingredients because of its extraordinary piquance. The earth elemental had become accustomed to the strong spice, though his brother had more of a sweet tooth and detested the pepper even though he grew it himself. Arborus's nose tingled as he caught scent of the spiced meat and held his own portion beneath his nostrils in an attempt to drown the smell with maple venison's sweetness. They both couldn't help but chuckle at the whole ordeal and shortly began eating their own rations.

The Fae brothers looked up at Rena as she prosed her question, looked to each other, then turned back to the wind elemental.

"Aye," said Arborus.

"O' course," Terrus added.

"We won't mind."

"Not at all."

"Grab a seat."

"What would ye like?"

"We've got venison..."

"Raisins..."

"Apples..."

"I believe we've also got-"

"Peaches..."

"'Ere we go...beef!"

"Aye, lovely beef."

"Roasted..."

"Tender..."

"Seasoned just right."

"Indeed."

"Well, we don't really portion things out afore'and," replied Arborus.

"We just kinda know not to be eatin' too much," added Terrus.

"Iffen we do run out, we just forage and scavenge."

"Easiest thing to do, really."

"Just gotta know where to look."

"Which is just about anywheres."

"Yeah, fer example, ol' boulder-brain 'ere eats dirt."

"I do not and ye know damn well I don't!" Terrus wore a mixed look of exasperation and frustration at the accusation.

Arborus was trying his best to hold his composure and keep from smiling. "'Tis true, 'e most definitely eats it. See 'im crawlin' 'round in 'is tunnels and lappin' it up like cream to a cat."

"I'm looking fer ore deposits ye daft tree-talker."

"I'm not daft ye idjit!"

"Ye're the idjit, yer 'ead's nearly as 'ollow as the bloody oak. I can 'ear yer brain rattlin' about like a pebble in a pot."

There was a moment of silence as they gave each other a stern look of faint resentment, then burst out laughing at the mental images of the latter of jests.

Malyc climbed up onto the bench seat next to Soreal. "No sense in you being the only one up here getting shot at." he said, "This way, one of us can shoot back"

He set his quiver between his legs, to facilitate snatching his second shot, and set an arrow to the string. Malyc chuckled a bit as he listened to the two Fae brothers argue, and, since all their talk of food was making him hungry, he grabbed some smoked venison and his waterskin out of his pack.

"You want anything, Soreal?" he asked, figuring he'd offer. He could always hunt for more if need be, there were plenty of woods in the area.

"Thank ye," the Fae brothers said in unison.

"I cooked it meself," Terrus added.

"With herbs I grew in me garden," Arborus finished.

"Glad ye like it."

"Indeed we are."

"'Opefully we'll get the chance to make some more."

"'Ave a li'l feast on our own."

"Aye."

And so, it begins...

...again.

The carriage rolled onward for what seemed like an eternity, though it soon reach a fork in the road - one path going west and the other pointing more south than east. Soreal pulled the reigns right and steered the group west to the river, then looked back at the two Fae brothers who were singing a seemingly endless song which had begun nearly an hour before. "Are you quite finished, yet?"

The two brothers paused a moment and gave the Aquean a perplexed look.

"Not quite, I suppose," said Terrus.

"We've just a few more verses," Arborus added.

"Alright," Soreal said with a sigh of resentment. "Just make it quick."

With that, the two Fae picked up right where they left off and onward still, the carriage rolled.

Hearing Athgar request something to eat, Malyc fished around in his pack a bit before coming up with some bread and dried meat, which he handed back. "There ya go." He said. "Might need to go hunting again before long..."

Soreal began developing a migraine as all three of the Fae singing had been going on for another half hour. There was some relief when he heard another voice that wasn't belting out Fae lyrics; it was Drogon, asking about how much longer the trip would be. "Shouldn't be much longer," said Soreal. We should be approaching Straylight river any moment now." Without looking back, he added softly to himself, "...and hopefully an end to the song as well."

Athgar accepted the meat and bread Malyc handed back, hungry and thankless as he bit into the meat and followed with a bite of bread. "Not the best meal I've ever eaten," Athgar said through a half-chewed mouthful of food, "though it sure beats starving."

The Fae brothers were having a merry time, both realizing the nuisance they were becoming to the Aquean driving, but feeling that it was all in good fun. Arborus leaned forward as he began digging through the sack in his lap as he sung and found himself quite fortunate that he had. At the exact moment the nature elemental had a hankering for cashew nuts, a bandit in the line of trees released his hold on the end of an arrow which was nocked to a very tense bowstring. The arrow flew true, though failed to reach its mark which had moved just a fraction of a second before. Both Fae heard the whine of the passing arrow, though only Arborus felt the passing as one of its fletchings brushed the back of his neck. He gasped sharply in surprise and immediately sat upright, scanning for the shooter.

Terrus wasted no time alerting the rest of the wagon's occupants of the attack and shouted loudly, "Ambush!!"

Suddenly, several arrows were being fired from both sides of the road and from the cover of the woods. Many arrows lodged themselves in the sides of the wagon whereas others had passed through the open windows. Acting swiftly, the Fae brothers defended against the first volley of arrows; Terrus's armor plates hardened and he stood beside Rena, deflecting the shafts he could while Arborus sat on the opposite side of her and used his mask as a makeshift shield, getting a couple arrow points lodged into it. Soreal ducked and kept his head low and he whipped the horses with the reins which soon made them increase speed, pulling the wagon faster as they galloped forward.